From the lens of a carspotter. Kai Wyn doubles down on his obsession with Singapore’s Car Culture

Singapore – If you’re a car enthusiast in Singapore, Cars ‘N’ Kopi should be a household name to you by now. Bringing together cars of all makes, types, sizes and ages, the event has risen over the years to become Singapore’s primary automotive gathering for owners and enthusiasts alike.

Cars ‘N’ Kopi usually occurs several times annually on public holidays such as National Day and Deepavali. However, when the Pagani Utopia Roadster landed on our shores for its ceremonial launch, both Pagani of Singapore and the Cars ‘N’ Kopi team decided it was too good not to hold a special meet to display it to the public.

And yes, although I had just attended the launch of this very car a few days prior to it being displayed here, I couldn’t resist snapping a few (or a lot) more photos of it. The only difference was that this time, it was surrounded by individuals, each wanting to have a glance at this beauty. In fact, it was the biggest crowd I have ever seen around one car at Cars ‘N’ Kopi. And for good reason, as where and when else could you see a Pagani displayed in such broad daylight in Singapore?

I love how the colour of the exposed carbon paintjob changes from red to maroon to black, depending on how sunlight falls on the car.

But as if one hypercar wasn’t enough to steal the show, an ultra-rare and ultra-expensive Koenigsegg Agera S+ “Medusa” then showed up. Originally starting life as a 1 of 5 Koenigsegg Agera S, it was sent back to Sweden for some upgrades, including new bodywork, colour, upholstery and powertrain before returning to our shores. As you can imagine, this hypercar attracted just as much attention as the Utopia.

As good as the Medusa looks, I had photographed the car on a previous occasion, and wasn’t exactly willing to jostle with the crowd surrounding it. Thus, these are the only two photos I took of it that day.

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Although the two hypercars were undoubtedly the runaway crowd-pleasers of the event, the guys from AutoIcons successfully managed to steal some of the attention with their extremely cool and rare Koenig F48 for sale. It’s a Ferrari 348 that has been transformed by renowned tuner Koenig Specials, thus incorporating a Ferrari F40-inspired bodykit and an engine tuned from 320 to a whopping 600 horsepower. This may not sound like that much in today’s supercar standards, but they were astronomical numbers in the early nineties. For some reference, the current Porsche 911 GT3 RS only has 525 horsepower. It’s mind-boggling how a beast like this could even be registered on our roads.

Speaking of bodykits, this McLaren 720S has been fitted with one designed by DarwinPRO Aero. Heavily inspired by the track-only McLaren Senna GTR hypercar, this is the closest we’ll get to seeing a Senna GTR on the road (excluding actual McLaren Sennas, of course).

I see a theme here.

Two more heavy hitters: a McLaren 765LT in an amazing spec of MSO Tokyo Cyan, as well as the only registered Nissan GT-R R35 Nismo in Singapore.

Here’s some closer photos I took of the GT-R Nismo at a previous Cars ‘N’ Kopi.

Nope, it’s not an upbadge!

No car meet is complete without one of the world’s most renowned movie cars, the Nissan Skyline R34. The one on the left pays homage to the Fast and Furious franchise by incorporating Brian O’Connor’s famous livery from the 2003 film, 2 Fast 2 Furious.

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And now for an anime car! This Mazda RX-7 FC is reminiscent of Ryosuke Takahashi’s legendary touge car of choice in Initial D. Also known as Akagi’s White Comet!

Of course, one can’t forget the plethora of classics that turn up at every meet. According to Straits Times, this lovely 944 Turbo has had the same owner since 1990! It looks to be in pristine condition too, which is something that cannot be said of most cars this age.

This Triumph Spitfire looks petite in comparison to the Suzuki Swift Sport on the far right, which in turn looks tiny compared to most new cars on sale today. Are cars getting too big for our roads nowadays? Perhaps this could be a point of discussion for a future article.

Since the post-COVID era, the turnout at Cars ‘N’ Kopi has increased substantially. With all the parking lots in the main carpark mostly filled less than an hour into the meet, you’ll be missing out by not sparing some time to check out the neighbouring carparks too. Here’s a general assembly meeting of BMWs, or shall we say a ///Meeting?

When there’s no parking spot available, but you own an off-road brute like this Mitsubishi Pajero, you create your own!

Here’s something quirky you don’t see every day: a 90s Honda CRX Del Sol. Bring back the days when every manufacturer was coming up with a small, fun sports car for your average enthusiast that doesn’t break the bank.

Now for the quirkiest of the quirky: an Aston Martin Cygnet! Made for the sole purpose of reducing Aston Martin’s average carbon emissions alongside its gas-guzzling V8 and V12 counterparts, the Cygnet is essentially a rebadged Toyota IQ with a more luxurious interior and Aston Martin bodywork. A small and nifty first car to be driving after obtaining your driver’s license (see the P-plate sticker!), and you can brag to others that your first car is an Aston!

Notice the lack of plates on this Datsun 240Z? It’s unregistered! I admire this owner’s dedication to bring it to the meet using test plates, and I hope to see this registered under classic plates soon!

I guess this photograph sums up every car enthusiast and the true meaning of Cars ‘N’ Kopi. Our common interest in everything automotive unites us regardless of our gender, race or age.

At last, it was time for the Utopia Roadster to go. Maybe I’ll be reunited with it someday in the future if it’s displayed at Modena’s Horacio Pagani Museo and I’m lucky enough to be there.

Unfortunately, I’m unable to include every cool car I photographed that day, as there were simply far too many. But precisely because of the seemingly never-ending variety of machines, there’s no other way I would spend my morning.

Text & Photos: Tan Kai Wyn